Any predictions as to when Scott Gomez might score his next game-winner?

Of course, in this star-crossed season, Gomez ended the game minus-1.

And L’Antichambre being L’Antichambre, they needed a new whipping boy. So Tomas Plekanec became the butt of their jokes. It’s a nice job, the wits suggested, to earn $5 million a season playing on a checking line.

Man, I gotta stop watching that TV show. Best thing to do when the siren sounds is switch channels.

As L’Antichambre began, Mario Tremblay was theatrically clapping his hands to applaud the Gomez goal.

Hey Mario, weren’t you worried the sound might drown out the telephones ringing with calls offering you jobs in the NHL?

OK, that’s it for TV criticism. Let’s talk about a trend we haven’t seen in a while:

Winning.

The Canadiens hadn’t won three in a row since they beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 at the Bell Centre on Oct. 29. Then after a six-day early-season layoff, they went to Ottawa and beat the Senators 2-1 to make it four straight before losing 5-3 in New York the following night.

Since then, the Canadiens have won two straight on four occasions. The inability to put together any kind of streak explains why three wins leave the Canadiens in 11th place, nine points out of a playoff spot.

The postseason is still a longshot. But if the Canadiens can win in Toronto on Saturday and beat Carolina at tghe Bell Centre Monday night …

“It’s a great group of guys, and you never know,” Gomez said after the game. “You just gotta keep winning.”

Whether the fiendishly complicated math of moving north in the Eastern Conference standings works out or not, the Canadiens are playing their best hockey of the season.

The goaltender is in a groove, as evidenced by Carey Price’s remarkable performance during the Islander power play that began the second period. With the home team throwing the puck among themselves like it was on a string, Price made four saves, then three more shortly after the penalty expired.

As my friend Stubbs, who knows goaltending, pointed out on Twitter, the remarkable aspect of it was Price didn’t look like he was straining to make saves. That’s how good his positioning was.

Holding the fort in front of Price were seven defencemen Randy Cunneyworth employed adroitly, giving major minutes to the studs: Josh Gorges (23:08), P.K. Subban (21:52) and Alexei Emelin (20:19). François Gagnon made a valid point on L’Antichambre: P.K. is a better defencemen when he doesn’t play 25 minutes and try to do everything.

Up front, Cunneyworth is enjoying the luxury of three stable forward lines:

• Two and a Half Men line continue to be the team’s best line … by a lot. While scoring the first hat trick and the first empty-netter of his NHL career, Max Pacioretty had 10 shots on goal, another four that were blocked and two that missed the net. Do the math: 16 times he had the puck on his stick to make a play in the offensive zone. david Desharnais continues his playmaking wizardry, and Erik Cole picked up an assist to end a five-game dry spell.

Even when he doesn’t score, Cole skates, hits and brings a work ethic to the rink that has to inspire younger players. Max-Pac, Rene Bourque and Louis Leblanc benefit from playing with a winger who busts his butt on every shift.

I don’t know if Cold-FX works. But the Cole Effect is magic.

• With two physical, north-south pluggers – Mathieu Darche and Travis Moen – on his wings, Tomas Plekanec is enjoying a late-season surge. They may not light up the scoreboard, but the line spends a lot of time in the offensive zone, digging and making life difficult for defencemen.

• If the Canadiens had blown another lead, Lars Eller’s high-stick on John Tavares would be seen as the turning point. But that didn’t happen, and Eller continues to build good chemistry with Rene Bourque and Louis Leblanc.

• That leaves a fourth line of Gomez-Andreei Kostitsyn-Whomever (often Bourque, sometimes Cole). Call them The Enigmas.

But now that Gomez has what old friend Robert Lefebvre calls “a whole planet of the Apes” off his back, maybe he and AK46 will be helpful in the Canadiens desperate push toward …

What exactly?

The playoffs still seem like too steep a mountain to climb. But starting Saturday night at the ACC, the Canadiens’ next five games are against Eastern Conference opponents.

____________________________________________________
Dear Mtl Canadiens,
Please beat Boston to tie the season series. You are about to cost me three bottles of rum in a little over a year.
Love,
Michael

Boone mentioned “Lars Eller’s high-stick on John Tavares”; another phantom call and a pathetic dive. I am so sick of the way these big tough hockey players drop to the ice at every opportunity. It used to be a man’s game! (with no disrespect to the females who enjoy the sport)

I’ve never understood how people are so idiotic about that. It’s entirely possible to, say, trip someone, but the tripped player also goes out of his way to ‘sell’ the call. Thus, they both go off. A play can be both a legit infraction AND a dive at the same time.

I can’t remember whose idea it is (Tortorella/Grapes?) but when I read it I thought it to be an elegant solution…
The league wants to punish the initial hooking/tripping infraction thus they call the 2 minute penalty. Fair enough. They also don’t want to reward the “diver” so they call that one as well. Again, fair enough. Their solution is to punish the “diver” for trying to embarrass the referees by giving him an additional 2 minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct or perhaps delay of game. That way it discourages the the embellishment behavior. Seems reasonable to me. Comments??

To punish both the offender, and the player who embellishes to draw the call, is a perfectly reasonable way to handle these situations. We should see it happen more often.

In fact, suspensions should be handed out after the fact, even if the dive isn’t caught at the time by the refs. A lot of dives are blatant once seen on video replay, and players shouldn’t get away with them, these are a direct attack on the integrity of the game. I want hockey players to fight through checks, not flop like soccer players.

The Hurricanes have a nation? I took for granted RBC Rink or whatever they’re barn is called doubles for a homeless shelter to boost attendance.

____________________________________________________
Dear Mtl Canadiens,
Please beat Boston to tie the season series. You are about to cost me three bottles of rum in a little over a year.
Love,
Michael

That was a lame penalty call. They collided and if Eller’s stick did even hit him, it was nothing to fall down about or even stop playing. This is what the league has become, sucking refs into giving penalties because teams can’t win without help!

We still are bottom feeder dwellers with our club.
If I were PG, listen to all offers for our club who want a Cole, a Plekanec, a Subban, …anyone!!!

One day, everyone is going to realize we did the right thing and the Cup will come in 5 years built on from draft picks and high end prospects for our club which will make us bigger as well than being smurfs in todays NHL.

We cannot hope and pray we make the playoffs and eke into an 6th-8th place position and hope we do some damage as we have wished for in the past with this club.

Tank I say! Tank!“We will win the Cup one day only with ? in the nets “

I know you have a pretty hard line stance, but in fairness to the Canadiens, they are about as likely as any Canadian franchise to win the cup next. 5 teams building, 1 team in free fall, 1 team in decline in the next year or so.

____________________________________________________
Dear Mtl Canadiens,
Please beat Boston to tie the season series. You are about to cost me three bottles of rum in a little over a year.
Love,
Michael

Ok….I think I have to take credit for the Gomez goal…..something to do with radio waves….I was going through a car wash last night, lost reception of the game. When I came out on the other side, Gomez had already scored!

I gotta get this off my chest. When was the last time the Habs had a questionable call go their way?
In the last 10 days, I have seen a high stick goal by an opponent to break a shutout, an obviously kicked in goal which led to a loss, and a hook on Cole (I think) which caused a turnover an a winnng goal with 2 minutes left. 2 were reviewed and not overturned (i know not why) and the other one was a blown call (similar to the Perry goal, which TSN jumped all over, and slammed the officials). Is the hate for Habs real, or is it my imagination?

It’s your imagination. People tend to remember bad events more readily than happy ones. Also, as a fan, we all have a tendency to view the things our team does as not being potential penalties, even when they should have been. So you see something against the Habs that might have been called, but wasn’t, and that gets lodged in the ol’ brain. Your fan-based ability to overlook potential calls against your own team kicks in and makes it worse. Fans don’t see their teams getting away with things, because they’re quite convinced that most things their teams do aren’t penalties.

It’s just the life of a fan. Sports wouldn’t be much fun if you couldn’t have a little blindness for your own team, right?

I am happy to see the Habs winning, but I hope that doesn’t make Gauthier Giddy and have him thinking they can win the cup and then hold onot the UFA’s at the dealine. I still strongly believe that Gauthier should trade Gill, Campoli, Weber, Kaberle, and Nokelainen. I would hang onto Moen if he wants to resign, but if teams that feel they are lacking one or two pieces and offer something the Habs lack, then I would also move Kostitsyn and Plekanec. Detroit has proven that you can win with the grit and size on the wings and Montreal has DD, Eller, LeBlanc and White down the middle. If they can get a big, gritty winger for Plekanec, I would do it. They have Gallagher, Bournival, Kristo, Avtsin and now Holland that can provide offence. Gionta is another player I would trade. Add more young players to the strong core and let them grow together.

Since I worked during the game and I decided to watch the replay (something I RARELY DO) on habsonlinetv so I could:

A) see the Gomer goal within the game context..
Good for him, finally. Now if he scores one in the next two games that can be construed as a hat-trick, or a Gome-trick if you will.

B) see the Max Pac hat trick…
Yes, hard to believe the Gomer goal took the spot above Max’s great effort but hey, Max will score again and a Gomer goal is as rare as a unicorne sighting so…

C) The meltdown…
Yes, they almost choked. So what else is new. That 1st goal seemed a tad high stick’ed for me and the TO call probably the quickest and most “gratuitous” ever on record. Was that ref actually talking to someone in TO or was he simply moving his lips for effect? It was a tough way to lose a shutout.

D) To a lesser extent, watch the ANTICHAMBRE…
I’ll go on record as saying I actually like the anti team, they make me laugh, they have good chemistry, and they actually have decent observations. (unless PJ Stock is on, then I have to restrain myself from putting my fist through my computer screen) But I had to watch after Boone’s comments. Frankly Booner, I think you’re way off on this one. I didn’t perceive any negatives in what you pointed out. For instance, the Plekanec whipping boy comment, where did you concoct that in your mind from I don’t know. Bergy actually called him a first line center asked to play a defensive role. He was supportive. Frankly Boone I just don’t see it. As for Tremblay I don’t like him for the Roy fiasco, BUT, he proved his meddle as a top rank assistant under Lemaire for years. I’ve chalked the Roy thing as a guy learning the coaching job against the ropes. Corey threw him in the lions den after pressing the panic button and firing Savard and Demers. It was not his fault. And if ya want to read into his clapping then slam him for it maybe you should look in the mirror and conduct yourself like a reporter and not a common poster (such as myself) on this site. I’ve read post game posts from you often quoting the antichambre crew. Why the change of heart now? Perhaps you were having a bad bout of male menopause, or too much juice. I don’t know, but I’ve moved on regarding Tremblay, maybe you should as well.

Now that I got that off my chest, bring on the leafs and let the spoiling begin!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Kiss my hAbSS!!!

I watched l’Antichambre and they were definitely NOT criticizing Tomas Plekanec. Quite the opposite.

They praised his defensive play.

What they were criticizing was the fact of a $5M man playing on a checking line (with Moen and Darche), as effective as the line might be. They even made the point that they hoped no one would blame Plekanec for not producing when we lost games, given that he’s a playmaker playing with two non-scorers.

I’m also not sure Tremblay’s clapping was sarcastic. Certainly it wasn’t as sarcastic as Mr Boone’s game recap …

I agree on Plekanec. They were criticizing how he’s being used and that its a lot of money to spend on a defensive centre. BUT, Boone isn’t wrong either. He WAS the butt of their jokes, or the situation anyway. With Bergy in his one man show “Plekanec phones home” and all.

As far as Richer goes or Brisebois, I think some of it had to do with the growing pains of the Quebec people, meaning I dont think it will ever happen again to that degree. I remember once Richer was on the front page of a newspaper with the headline that he slept with strippers and the stripclub had AIDS problems, therefore Richer etc… Theres an old Irish saying that goes: When youre not strong enough to wage war on someone, you usually end up waging war on your own.
So yeah I think what happened was a variation of that saying.

[Disclaimer]: I’m a hockey fan. I care about the habs, but probably not as much as you.

That was Price’s best game of the season, marred only by a high stick goal. Gomez getting what turned out to be the game winner? Too rich.
Anti-Chambre being bleeping a-holes? Typical for these Nevergoingtocoachagainanywhere idiots.
Price was so in control tonight, moving exactly and certainly in the crease, his pad work was ridiculously efficient.
MaxPac’s first was quite the rocket, stunning Nabokov. Congrats on him for the hattie!

My response on the previous thread to a question about Stéphane Richer. I think I’m remembering the situation right, but I’d appreciate any comments or corrections.

Q: Watching some TSN feature w Stephane Richer… never saw him in action, but from the looks of it he was being anointed the next one?

A: When Stéphane was drafted by the Canadiens, the expectations were high but there were whispers that he was fragile. He was blessed with size, skating ability, a booming shot and a scorer’s nose. After the 1984-85 LHJMQ season there was a sense that he needed another year in juniors, that he wasn’t mature enough at least mentally, and the Chicoutimi Saguenéens traded for him during the season expecting that he’d return for the next season and fill their arena. The Canadiens brought him up though, partly to give him more structure and more of a challenge, and because it was thought that it wouldn’t be the right environment for an impressionable guy like him to be treated like a god in a small town.

I don’t think anyone really thought he was the ‘next’ one after Richard, Béliveau, Cournoyer and Lafleur, partly due to the fact that he was drafted in the second round. It was a pleasant surprise when he scored 50 goals, many thought he’d be a 30 goal guy in the NHL. After that, the pressure on him to produce was immense, and he became a butt of jokes for his awkward interviews and his mangled grammar, in English and French. The comedy troupe “Rock et Belles Oreilles” did a regular and devastating impression of him. This would have been hard for him to accept, given his emotional state. The trade to New Jersey might have been the best thing that happened to him, in hindsight.

A bonus for him at the time was that there were other young players with promising futures in the organization, guys like Petr Svoboda and Chris Chelios and Tom Kurvers, Sergio Momesso, Claude Lemieux, Brian Skrudland, and Patrick Roy. There was also a lot of leadership on the team, with Bob Gainey, Larry Robinson, Guy Carbonneau, Chris Nilan, Bobby Smith, Craig Ludwig. So there were expectations, but he wasn’t seen as the Savior, and wasn’t the focus of the entire fan base, like P.K. and Carey and Max are today. He was insulated partially by the strength of the team and the belief that the future was in good hands. He was a big piece of the puzzle, but only one, so that gave him a little slack.

I just looked it up, and I forgot about Mike Lalor, a steady tough stay at home defenceman when mentioning the youth on that team. That guy could play on today’s team anytime. As for veterans, I should have mentioned Mats Naslund, Chris Nilan, Ryan Walter and Rick Green. For added pugnacity, truculence and bellicosity, we also had John Kordic.

Another aspect also was that he was French Canadian, so that intensified the microscope he was under, but there were quite a few francophones amongst the players and management, so that relieved quite a bit of pressure. If he was coming up now, seeing the attention given to David Desharnais and Mathieu Darche, you can imagine the weight he would have had to carry in terms of media interviews and personal appearances, etc.

Also in those days stuff written about Richer (and other players) were nastier than what passed as rumors in these days. I was about 14 when he was a 50 goals scorer and all I hear in my school was that he and Roch Voisine were gay lovers, eventhough I was not yet a knowledgeable hockey fan nor read any newspapers at that time.

Gomez scored! and then he gave one back! Notice Streit was completely untouched as he skated past Gomez? We are not physical enough inside our own blueline, and teams know it.

Could we please load Gomez, Campoli, and Kaberle into a rocket and fire it at the sun??? I would rather give 25 minutes per game to Darche, White, Blunden, and St. Denis, then watch these passengers continue to impersonate hockey players.

Soft hands don’t make-up for a complete lack of heart! Players who care put their bodies on the line by playing physical.

If you had been held captive in a cave in the mountainous region of Swat for about a year, and were lucky enough to have been rescued by Seal Team 6 (a unit doing some fine work now that the Commander in Chief is keeping his eye on the ball as opposed to the previous incumbent) and you had watched the Canadiens game against the Islanders tonight, you would have thought all is right in the world. The Canadiens had ably despatched a perennially weaker opponent on their home ice. Carey Price had been dominant and kept the young Islanders at bay. That young Max Pacioretty kid obviously was keeping on this rising trajectory he had established the previous season, tallying three goals and being dangerous all night. There would have been a few new faces, that Hab-slayer Erik Cole was now with the Forces of Good would have been a pleasant surprise. You might have noted that Scott Gomez played on the fourth line and had a couple of defensive lapses, but otherwise still skated effectively and scored an opportunistic goal. You wouldn’t have noticed that Benoit Pouliot was nowhere to be seen, and you wouldn’t have cared. Overall, the team skated hard and hit and competed as you would have expected they would.

It’s a blessing for the Canadiens that Scott Gomez finally put an end to the streak. It is a distraction on top of all the other distractions that the Canadiens have endured this season, and obviously one they didn’t need. Mr. Gomez reacted appropriately, celebrating soberly with a Mike Cammalleri fist pump.

In fact, it seemed as if Mr. Gomez channeled his inner Mike Cammalleri, circa April 2010, for more than the celebration. The goal itself was a Cammalleri special, a one-timer from the circle on the offwing. Scott did everything but touch his knee to the ice on the follow-through.

Speaking of Mr. Cammalleri, we may tentatively assert that the trade was a good one for the Canadiens. In terms of the players and assets involved, it seems relatively even. The cap space it affords the Canadiens is a great benefit. The production of the two main players is dead even, again a win when factored through the cap hits equation. Finally, it is becoming apparent that the Canadiens won by removing a distraction from the dressing room, a classic case of addition by subtraction.

Pierre Gauthier has been roundly criticized for perceived knee-jerk decisions this season, for being reactive as opposed to proactive, for not steering the good ship Glorieux but rather being haplessly buffeted by one storm after another and getting battered. We can look at it another way though: Mr. Gauthier, as he has stated repeatedly, believes in this team and acted decisively when he felt he needed to, rather than giving up on the season. The much-maligned trade for Tomas Kaberle, for example, was born of his desire to help the players, who he felt were getting discouraged with their lack of success on the powerplay and exhibited a defeated body language as they returned to the bench. You may argue the wisdom of acquiring the somnambulant Czech and his anchor contract, and I’ll argue right along with you, but you can’t fault Mr. Gauthier for giving up on the season.

Yet there is an obvious sign that the Canadiens, despite some encouraging wins, are setting up to sell off assets before the trade deadline, in the form of the decision to not pick up Anthony Stewart off waivers from Carolina. The fact that he was not claimed by any team is possible evidence that there are facets unknown to the general public at this point, since big strong forwards with a smattering of skill are always welcome on an NHL lineup, but I felt there was a great fit between his profile and the Canadiens’ needs.

We are bereft of forward talent, to the point where we routinely dress seven defencemen and only 11 forwards. Hamilton cannot provide reinforcement, as has been demonstrated by the play of callups Andreas Engqvist and Aaron Palushaj. Louis Leblanc has been rushed up despite his lack of experience and the apparent initial desire to let him mature in the minors. The Canadiens have had trouble competing against the teams who play a more physical style, and Mr. Gauthier has stated after the acquisition of René Bourque that the team needs to get bigger. Anthony Stewart seemed like a slam dunk, a 225 lbs 27 year old homeboy from LaSalle who would be able to provide the insulation and even pushback against the Mark Stuarts and Paul Gaustads of this world. He was signed for another season at a very reasonable amount, the guy was totally ‘plug and play’.

Yet Mr. Gauthier chose not to take him aboard. This is an indication that the rest of the season is an evaluation phase for the team, and that veterans useful to contenders will be auctioned off for picks and prospects. Judging from the mood of Canadiens fans these days, this is a positive development in their eyes.

Roady: a jejune response to one of the few posters on this site who actually has thoughtful comments. It’s people like you who embody the very worst of the internet. Un Canadien errant’s bowel movements have more class — and possibly more intelligence — than you.

well Da Hema…he attacked an opinion I posted a while back with some insulting comments because I like the rough stuff in hockey, which …ahem….includes fighting when it is necessary and I believe it has a place in the game. You were in agreement. I could care less what you two mental midgets think about me so anything you post on here and all your other insulting remarks won’t put a mark on me…. so fire away fools….you’re entitled to your opinion as much as I am but don’t waist my time with your posts that amount to nothing when an intelligent human being like myself can tear it to shreds with ease….you have no argument with me you can win…take a look in the mirror boys….there’s dirt on your faces…pppffftt !!! and I never read your post currant canadian….like I said ..you lost me after the word “If”….if only HIO had a block button you 2 knotheads would be snuffed out quick…ha !!

take your drink to the end of the bar buddy…come on now, don’t be a fool…

…Normand, You twigged some memories My Friend of Swat in Pakistan …not the best ski destination for foreigners nowadays, but I spent some interesting time trekking and driving through the valleys and mountains on bald tires years ago that Alexander the Great once traversed by elephants and horses …as far as a ski destination ? …just be happy with what Ya got in Whistler …or Mt. Tremblant even
…interesting You would mention it …have You been to Swat Yourself as well ?

No, I was riffing on how tonight’s game was played as we imagined it might be at the start of the season. We thought the Canadiens were not a powerhouse but certainly playoff caliber, and that they would have no problems dealing with the weak sisters of the NHL. We certainly thought that the goaltending would be solid, and the boys would skate and work hard. The riff was also about how Scott Gomez finally scored. So I was playing off the old trope of living in a cave for the past year, you wouldn’t have know how surprising this game was overall, you would have thought is was business as usual.

Never been to Pakistan, your adventures seem pretty cool though. My most exotic travels were in Africa as a child when my father worked in Guinée.

We really need to get together and catch a Giants game to scout Brendan Gallagher. Wednesday, March 7, Patrick Holland will be in town with the Tri-City Americans, what do you say?

.: Absolutely, totally thrilled for Scott Gomez. His goal was brilliant, and the call on RDS was thrilling. I loved how the announcer screamed his name. I was smiling the biggest frakin’ grin I could muster. Repeat: THRILLED for The Gomer!!!

………………………………………………………………………………….
Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are. — Augustine of Hippo

Ha, n disrespect but I get confused too. For me, I think it has more to do with you being from Brandon just down the road from Shilo.

____________________________________________________
Dear Mtl Canadiens,
Please beat Boston to tie the season series. You are about to cost me three bottles of rum in a little over a year.
Love,
Michael

Well let’s see the it’s 12:33am and I am starting to get updates from a game that started at 7 pm. My kids who are starting collage could do a better job then I guess people getting paid lots of money and can’t figure it out